Nashville rockers Kings of Leon’s show Wednesday at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia certainly had high points.

The band’s performance of “Back Down South,” a song from its 2010 disc “Come Around Sundown,” was warm, with singer Caleb Followill’s raspy voice a perfect fit for the song’s sentiments. On “Wait For Me” from the new album “Mechanical Bull,” his voice was pleading and wanting, the music brooding and desperate.

And, of course, there was the group’s giant 2008 platinum hit “Use Somebody,” as good as it was when it came out, and performed well, to boot.

But in its first U.S. tour in more than three years, the Followill family band didn’t connect nearly as well through most of concert.

It ran through 27 songs in a quick hour-and-50-minute set, playing most of precisely as it did on the records. What that meant is that most of the songs sounded good – the four-member Kings of Leon played proficiently on every song.

But that came at the expense of spontaneity, or any real stage show, for that matter. It was ironic that the band played the first song, “Charmer,” behind a white sheet, but the show’s visual element didn’t rise much when it was dropped.

A large screen behind the band with constant imagery apparently was an attempt to fill that gap, but to say the group addressed the less-than-full crowd sparingly is an understatement.

It also meant most of the songs lacked soul – that intangible element that adds excitement as well as musical acuity. Many of the songs had all the fundamentals that should have made them good, but instead came off as rote.

“My Party,” for example, has a pulsing, rumbling base, its performance crisp and clean. But it failed to excite. “Family Tree” was ersatz funk, tight with a strong bass line, but was barely better. “The Immortals” was utterly undistinguished, and just a third of the way through the show, Followill’s vocals began to wear on the listener.

Later songs such as “Don’t Matter,” were entirely proficient, but went nowhere musically. “Milk” started with Followill alone on acoustic guitar, but even stripped wasn’t compelling. It sounded like it should have been great, but wasn’t.

Even the new hit “Supersoaker” had urgency, but little else. It wasn’t as if the new songs – the band played eight of the new disc’s 11 tunes – were any better or any worse. The 2010 No. 1 alternative hit “Radioactive” had a speedy undercurrent, but also went nowhere.

Guitarist Cameron Followill

The show improved in the middle, with “Back Down South” and “Wait For Me” back to back. The latter’s line “It’s all better now/Wait For Me” seemed especially appropriate. The 2004 breakthrough hit “The Bucket” also was better, rumbling and rushing.

The main set ended strong. The new “Beautiful War” was lovely and soaring, and the music fit the lyrics’ tale of tumultuous love. Even Followill’s vocals had more depth. And “Cold Desert” from the 2008 album “Only By the Night” was even better – a haunting, echo-y guitar as bubbles dropped from the rafters like snow.

And then, of course, “Use Somebody,” in all its soaring magnificence. It’s easy to see why the song was the band’s biggest – Kings of Leon clearly has a type of song it does well.

So it was disappointing for the band to close with the noisy “Trani,” or open the encore with the undistinguished “Crawl.” And while “Black Thumbnail” rocked nicely and the closing chant-y hit “Sex on Fire” also sounded good, they were precisely the kind of soulless songs that made up the parts of the show that weren’t the best.

Opening act Gary Clark Jr. was precisely the opposite: His seven-song, 50-minute set, dripping in blues, was all about soul.

But the refreshing part of Clark is that he plays with power – not like the multitude of guitarists these days who play all their screaming, string-bending notes high on the neck. Clark did that too – with talent – but was more flamboyant just blasting out blues on songs such as Robert Petway’s “Catfish Blues” and his own “Ain’t Messin’ Around.”

He was much like Robert Cray and Clapton on “When My Train Pulls In,” but with more sonic distortion – his guitar scowling and screeching and he scrubbed the strings. On B.B. King’s “3 O’Clock Blues,” he played very much like King – precision notes rolling into runs.

Clark’s singing, while not spectacular for its vocal ability, makes up for it in authenticity. There was no better example of that than his hit “Bright Lights.” It was a tour de force of fast playing and screaming notes, but also low-down-and-dirty singing.

The guitarist's name is not Cameron Followill. If you're going to slam a show because you find it "soulless" and "undistinguished" at least take the time to get the names right. Hanging out with Wiz Khalifa is no excuse for sloppy reporting. Then again, maybe it is.

Posted By: Lisa | Feb 23, 2014 2:06:58 PM

.....I just saw the boys in K.C. last night. They were good enough! What got me was the 40 ft. VIP section. I bought good seats so I could be close to the stage to actually see them play guitar. SUPRISE.....it was like being 25 rows back.
I thought Caleb and crew were against that kind of crap. That was my fourth and last time seeing them......or any concert that has those high end package deals involved with them.
....so the show. All the groups that I've seen live have a hard time making it seem spontaneous and keeping it real. Why should they be any different. Their sound equipment worked and at least they didn't suck!

JOHN J. MOSER has been around long enough to have seen the original Ramones in a small club in New Jersey, U2 from the fourth row of a theater and Bob Dylan's born-again tours. But he also has the number for All-American Rejects' Nick Wheeler on his cell phone, wrote the first story ever done on Jack's Mannequin and hung out in Wiz Khalifa's hotel room.

OTHER CONTRIBUTORS

JODI DUCKETT: As The Morning Call's assistant features editor responsible for entertainment, she spends a lot of time surveying the music landscape and sizing up the Valley's festivals and club scene. She's no expert, but enjoys it all — especially artists who resonated in her younger years, such as Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, Tracy Chapman, Santana and Joni Mitchell.

KATHY LAUER-WILLIAMS enjoys all types of music, from roots rock and folk to classical and opera. Music has been a constant backdrop to her life since she first sat on the steps listening to her mother’s Broadway LPs when she was 2. Since becoming a mother herself, she has become well-versed on the growing genre of kindie rock and, with her son in tow, can boast she has seen a majority of the current kid’s performers from Dan Zanes to They Might Be Giants.

STEPHANIE SIGAFOOS: A Jersey native raised in Northeast PA, she was reared in a house littered with 8-tracks, 45s and cassette tapes of The Beatles, Elvis, Meatloaf and Billy Joel. She also grew up on the sounds of Reba McEntire, Garth Brooks and Tim McGraw and can be found traversing the countryside in search of the sounds of a steel guitar. A fan of today's 'new country,' she digs mainstream/country-pop crossovers like Lady Antebellum and Sugarland and other artists that illustrate the genre's diversity.